Experient Leadership

Michael Guerriero

Division President, Event Management

As president of the Event Management division, Guerriero oversees sales and account management, event logistics and management, including site sourcing, venue and contract negotiations, onsite and supplier management as well as the marketing function. He joined Experient as Director of Finance in 1990 and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in 1995. He has managed the company through significant internal and acquisition-related growth
and was instrumental in the sale of Experient to Maritz Travel in April 2012. Prior to joining Experient, he worked as an auditor at Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). He is a member of ASAE,the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). Guerriero also serves on the Kent State University Hospitality Management Advisory Board
and the St. Louis National Customer Advisory Board.

Jacqueline E. Richards, MS, SPHR

Vice President, Human Resources & Development

Richards leads the Human Resources and Development Departments supporting both divisions of Experient. Richards is passionate about inspiring Experient’s leaders and employees to reach their full potential through aspirational coaching. She joined Experient in 2000 and in 2010 was promoted to VP, Human Resources and Development. Prior to joining Experient, she held a Human Resources position at PlanSoft, as well as an HR Management position with Gap, Inc. Richards holds a Master of Science in Organizational Development & Analysis from Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Science from Ohio University. Richards also holds an Executive Coaching Certificate grounded in Intentional Change Theory from Weatherhead School of Management. She is a certified Senior Human Resources Professional (SPHR) and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

Nancy DeBrosse, CMP

Senior Vice President, Account Management

DeBrosse oversees sales and strategic account management of over 300 association and government clients annually. She is also involved with Experient’s global initiative to work with international meetings held in the United States as well as assisting Experient’s clients wanting to meet overseas. DeBrosse joined Experient in 2008 as VP of the Washington, DC office overseeing the Strategic Account Management team. Prior to joining Experient, she was VP, Sales and Marketing for Projection, Inc., an audio/visual production company based in the Washington, DC area. DeBrosse has served on many local and national committees and boards and has been President of both of the DC Chapters of PCMA and IAEE. She was recognized in 2010 as PCMA’s Outstanding Member to a Chapter.

Gary Schirmacher, CMP

Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Schirmacher oversees Experient’s Strategic Sales team and Marketing Department, as well as leads the industry presence strategy for both the Martiz Travel Company and Experient brands. He is a Maritz Certified Designer and an authority on the topic of Experiential Design. Schirmacher is a member of PCMA, MPI, IAEE and CSAE, and is currently serving a third two-year term on the PCMA Educational Foundation Board of Trustees. Schirmacher also serves on the advisory boards for the Fort Worth CVB and Hyatt Hotels. He’s a frequent speaker and author for the meetings industry, and was inducted into the Colorado Meetings + Events Hall of Fame in 2011. Schirmacher joined Experient in January 1996 as the Director for the Western Region. He was awarded the company’s highest award, the Pinnacle Award, in 2005.

Andy Smith

Senior Vice President, ESN

Smith has worked for Experient since 2001 mentoring many of Experient’s field-based National Account Managers. In 2006, he accepted the opportunity to lead the ESN comprised of 90+ professionals who represent a vast collection of event industry expertise. His greatest professional passion is helping Experient representatives nurture their entrepreneurial talents while effectively tapping into the massive support of our Maritz and Experient meeting and convention professionals on staff to deliver results for our clients' diverse needs.

Shawn Pierce

Division President, Registration & Housing

As President of the RH business unit, Pierce leads Experient's efforts to address clients' needs to generate revenue, decrease costs, increase attendance and connect with their audiences through unique, technologically advanced registration, housing and lead retrieval systems and services. Pierce brings more than 20 years of experience in tradeshow development and management to Experient. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President at Hanley Wood, the premier b-to-b media network serving North America's residential and commercial construction industries. He had full P&L responsibility for eMedia, infrastructure, IT, registration and administration and streamlined all operating groups, systems and processes within the company. He also helped start Hanley Woods' Exhibitions Division in 2000 and grow it into a $50+ million business, and successfully created and developed a $3 million, 80+ tradeshow registration center for Miller Freeman/CMP, the world's largest tradeshow producer and one of the world's largest b-to-b publishing companies. In 2003, Pierce was awarded the Trade Show Executive Innovation Award, and in 2008, the Meeting TechOnline Rising Star Award. He belongs to the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) and the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) while serving on the board of the International Center for Exhibitor and Event Marketing (ICEEM).

David Beckett

Senior Vice President, Operations

Beckett has more than 18 years of experience in the event management business. His career started in exhibit sales for a business publication that eventually led him to create his own business, Premier Expositions, in 1995. Beckett joined Experient in July 2001, as Director of the Registration and Housing department. He is credited for the creation of Experient’s project management model and overseeing the integration efforts of the company’s registration platforms. In addition to overall registration product management, he oversees Experient’s service delivery staff including project managers, registration and onsite personnel, and our customer service groups. Beckett also leads the general operations group consisting of facility management, logistics, warehouse operations and credential material procurement, production and collation.

Jeff Fugate

Senior Vice President, Sales and Account Management

During his more than 20 years of sales and leadership experience across multiple industries, Fugate’s teams and clients have consistently experienced double and triple digit growth. He prides himself on the ongoing development of people and has managed and/or coached more than 1,800 salespeople to achieve success through the utilization of proven sales methodologies. Fugate is a graduate of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He is PCMA CASE certified and a former member of the New Orleans Advisory Board. He is active in IAEE, holding positions on both the Emerging Trends and Awards Committees.

Mike Godsey

Senior Vice President, Market Development

Godsey is a 23-year veteran of the event and tradeshow industry. At Experient, he oversees the introduction of new technology into the company’s offerings. Much of his focus has been on using technology to drive business results for show producers—such as increased attendance, effective mobile strategies and future lead retrieval platforms. In addition, he supervises the Exhibitor Services Group, where he manages Experient’s strategy surrounding lead retrieval products and services.

Heidi A. Voorhees, MBA, CAE

Senior Vice President of Housing

Voorhees leads Experient’s housing sales and operations for more than 150 housing clients and events that represent over 1.5 million room nights booked. With over 21 years of experience on the association show organizer side, she brings a client-centric viewpoint to the housing business. Voorhees served as Vice President of Meetings and Events and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for the Institute of Food Technologists, organizer of the world’s largest annual food expo. Prior to that, she was Managing Director for National Foundation for Judicial Excellence, Senior Director at Defense Research Institute and Convention Manager at SmithBucklin. She is a member of IAEE and ASAE and sits on the ASAE Meetings & Events Council. She is a frequent speaker at industry events such as PCMA, IAEE and ASAE. Voorhees holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA from Central Michigan University, and is an ASAE Certified Association Executive (CAE).

Brian Scott

Chief Information Officer

Scott is a 24-year veteran of technology, with the last 12 years being within the tradeshow industry. At Experient, he serves as the Chief Information Officer where he oversees product development, data center operations and company infrastructure. His background in commercial and enterprise application development lends itself to the multitude of software-based products and services within Experient. He manages the Experient data center that processes millions of transactions annually as well as corporate infrastructure supporting 11 locations and over 500 employees. Brian holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and an MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland.